Just procured some of our families camera collection. So here it is... Anyone know anything about the following three cameras? Meaning have you used them, do you prefer certain film, tips or tricks for use, etc. etc. I haven't shot film in 15 years, and that was with a modern SLR! So I'm looking forward to playing with it again. Not to mention they all have sentimental value!



Graflex Century 35, hailing from Japan circa 1957 and said to be a workhorse of average quality.

Agfa Ambi Silette, often called the poor mans Leica and comes from Germany circa 1957. The rarest of the bunch, and the one I fell in love with instantly.

Mamiya 23 Standard, lenses feature Seikosha leaf shutter and uses a 6x9 film back. They were produced in the 60's and it was the last generation of "press cameras" before reporters switched over to smaller and easier to use 35mm cameras. My Grandfather used it for portraits when doing studio work.

Thanks in advance if any of y'all have anything to contribute, and no worries if you don't!

Just start shooting film again if you have the cash! You can learn a lot with manual cameras and shoot Velvia while you can.

Buy Fresh Film.

Kodak Portra 400 and Ektar 100 are fantastic Colour films, Tri-X and Tmax are amazing B&W

Ilford also produces awesome B&W film stocks.

Also: http://filmphotographyproject.com/

Posted by PorkyMcCaw Just start shooting film again if you have the cash! You can learn a lot with manual cameras and shoot Velvia while you can.

Yeah I stopped shooting cause I just couldn't justify developing, or even the cost of film anymore... I really like taking pictures, and that crap adds up quick. Hence why I asked for any tips, trying to keep this under control, rather than blowing through film and money for no reason haha Thanks for the heads up on Velvia!

Posted by by Axle Buy Fresh Film. Kodak Portra 400 and Ektar 100 are fantastic Colour films, Tri-X and Tmax are amazing B&W Ilford also produces awesome B&W film stocks. Also: http://filmphotographyproject.com/

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Thanks Axle, film is my first priority after I have my camera guru check out the hardware on Monday. Thanks for the suggestions on film. And that website is pretty sweet, haven't had time to really dig into it... But I will!

The Mamiya is the best of the bunch. Does it have the rear bellows?

I know of at least a couple explorers who use one of those.

sell this:

Agfa Ambi Silette

and get a mamiya 7 with a lens

just my 2 cents, make it easy on yourself

6X7 is a great size and there a couple of firms that will page your negs and chromes and burn a disc for like 12 bucks or so.

film is just expensive.

the lyte

Posted by yokes The Mamiya is the best of the bunch. Does it have the rear bellows? I know of at least a couple explorers who use one of those.

I do not have the rear bellows, the standard didn't come with them. I have yet to figure out if you can use the rear bellows from the super on the standard. I'm told that it can create tilt shift and allow for a rear loupe/viewfinder which would be sweet.

Posted by Maglyte sell this: Agfa Ambi Silette and get a mamiya 7 with a lens just my 2 cents, make it easy on yourself 6X7 is a great size and there a couple of firms that will page your negs and chromes and burn a disc for like 12 bucks or so. film is just expensive. the lyte

yeah I can't sell it man, I know I could afford to get toys if I did... But it's my grandfathers camera, and its fucking sexy bro! Who are these firms you speak of for the 6x7?

If you sold all three for top dollar, you wouldn't even be close to affording a Mamiya 7.

Posted by Adv.Pack If you sold all three for top dollar, you wouldn't even be close to affording a Mamiya 7.

I don't have any intention of selling any of my families cameras. BUT the Agfa Ambi Silette can get up there if it's perfect condition and buyer is a collector, granted 90% of them sell for under $300 (most far less). I've seen the press with one lens go for $300, and certain lenses for the camera are worth more than the camera itself haha. The film backs for the Mamiya 23 series of cameras alone are woth $50-150 depending on which one it is. So I think you would be surprised how close I could get to a used $1500-$2k Mamiya 7 with these three cameras. Thanks for the input though!

But back to the whole money thing, if you want to save some cash shooting film, I have a couple of recommendations.

1. If you like black and white, it's very easy to develop it yourself. Chemicals and the starting supplies are relatively cheap, and if you buy your film in bulk, it's pretty cheap. You might mess up the first few times you do it, but once you get the hang of it, you can get awesome results.

2. If you really want to shoot medium format color film for cheap, you can look into getting a Polaroid back for your Mamiya. You just slap the Polaroid back on the camera and load it up with some Fuji instant film, which you can get for around $8.50 for 10 shots. Since you don't have to develop it, instant film ends up being cheaper shot for shot than buying film and developing it. Also, with instant film you can reclaim the negatives by bleaching the black part that peels off. The only major drawback with instant film is that the resolving power is pretty low so you can't make massive enlargement with your reclaimed negatives.

Hope this helps!

*Edit- Unfortunately, my friend just informed me that Polaroid backs apparently don't work with the Mamiya 23 Standard. But it's still something to think about if you ever invest in another MF camera and don't want to spend around 20 dollars to purchase and develop a 12-shot roll.

Posted by Adv.Pack If you sold all three for top dollar, you wouldn't even be close to affording a Mamiya 7.

my bad, I saw some outlandish quote on ebay.

the one firm I have used is Reeds in Colorado they do very good work. especially e-6

Posted by Maglyte my bad, I saw some outlandish quote on ebay. the one firm I have used is Reeds in Colorado they do very good work. especially e-6

Oh you saw that $999 one didn't you? That one caught me off guard as well when I first started looking up that camera lol. But in the world of using old lenses on NEX cameras... $300 can get me lots of well shopped goodies haha

And thanks, i'll look them up man!

Posted by PorkyMcCaw But back to the whole money thing, if you want to save some cash shooting film, I have a couple of recommendations. 1. If you like black and white, it's very easy to develop it yourself. Chemicals and the starting supplies are relatively cheap, and if you buy your film in bulk, it's pretty cheap. You might mess up the first few times you do it, but once you get the hang of it, you can get awesome results. 2. If you really want to shoot medium format color film for cheap, you can look into getting a Polaroid back for your Mamiya. You just slap the Polaroid back on the camera and load it up with some Fuji instant film, which you can get for around $8.50 for 10 shots. Since you don't have to develop it, instant film ends up being cheaper shot for shot than buying film and developing it. Also, with instant film you can reclaim the negatives by bleaching the black part that peels off. The only major drawback with instant film is that the resolving power is pretty low so you can't make massive enlargement with your reclaimed negatives. Hope this helps! *Edit- Unfortunately, my friend just informed me that Polaroid backs apparently don't work with the Mamiya 23 Standard. But it's still something to think about if you ever invest in another MF camera and don't want to spend around 20 dollars to purchase and develop a 12-shot roll.

I do like B&W and I had contemplated the ease of developing my own. I could easily build a small dark room in my loft, might could even convert my small wood shop on developing days. Thanks for the encouragement!

And yes, in a perfect world I would have a Universal or Super... Or an even more perfect world something completely different haha Does your friend have a standard? I don't see many people on the interwebz shooting with the standard, for obvious reasons

Posted by Amishdelight I do like B&W and I had contemplated the ease of developing my own. I could easily build a small dark room in my loft, might could even convert my small wood shop on developing days. Thanks for the encouragement!

You don't need a darkroom to develop film (unless you're doing tray developing/hangers and tanks). If you're just doing roll film or sheet film in a rotary processor you just need a change bag to load the film into the light tight tanks, the rest you can do in daylight.